The Bathory Curse (37 page)

Several of Anatolia’s staff members carried trays
filled with petit fours, cucumber and egg sandwiches, scones and
fruit covered in chocolate. At each table were dishes filled with
lemon curd, clotted cream, honey and butter.

“You spent too much money on this,” Daniela
whispered as she began to greet her guests.

“It’s your 18
^th
birthday, you should have seen the party your grandma threw
me.” Stasi grinned and walked off to speak with some of the
parents.

“Oh, this is to die for!” Adella
Hopkins took Daniela’s hand, gushing over it, “I wish my
18
^th
birthday had been
this glamorous. Mother just had a small dinner party, this is
better! And so unique to do it at this time of day, no one will
forget it.” She was a wispy blonde, all teeth and a bit annoying,
but Adella was part of her little clique of friends from school so
she had to play nice, she was also the local pastor’s
daughter.

“Your birthday was fun; there were boys, and boys
don’t come to tea parties,” Daniela conceded.

“This is the social event of the summer. Anyone who
didn’t get an invite will be an outcast this season, your mother
and Lady Anatolia have outdone themselves,” Mercy Gilliard said
around a mouthful of pastry. She had black hair, her mother was
from Russia, as big around as she was tall with a perfect face.
Daniela liked her better than the others.

There were many rumors surrounding Daniela’s living
arrangement; that her mother and Anatolia were lovers, but the
official statement was that Stasi was a military wife and they were
living with her maiden aunt.

“Are you still planning to try and attend college
after the summer?” Sarah Ann Aston, as pale as snow and hair a
matching shade, came over to them, her voice soft and
breathless.

“Yes, you know that Sarah.” Daniela eyed her mother
and reached up to tap her nose, their signal for, “HELP GET ME OUT
OF HERE.”

“Ridiculous, I have already had three proposals, I
just have to choose one,” Sarah Ann stated.

“Well, that’s you Sarah Ann, our Dani wants to go to
school, my parents are demanding I go to work as soon as the summer
ends. I’ve put in a few ads to become a governess.” Mercy grabbed a
sandwich as a tray went by.

“Well maybe Thomas Rowe will propose to you Mercy,”
Adella said, speaking of a boy they all knew. Daniela was glad her
collar was high so no one could see the blush on her neck at the
mention of the Rowe boy. A few years before she and Thomas had been
quite close, sneaking around getting drunk on anything she could
pilfer from her mother’s liquor cabinet and kissing in the dark.
That was until her mother had begun locking the cabinet and Thomas
Rowe had been sent to a boarding school. He had just recently
returned and was sniffing around Mercy a bit.

“That lump? I would rather marry one of the coal
miners,” Mercy laughed. “What about you Adella, what are your
plans?”

“I don’t want to get married, but I don’t want a job
or to go to school either; my great-aunt recommended joining a
convent.” Adella smiled, none of them were surprised. Adella was
the most pious girl they knew, always organizing charity events,
working at the soup kitchens and sitting front row during her
father’s sermons.

Daniela caught
her mother’s eye
again and Stasi began to make her way over to her daughter, she
knew Daniela was different than the girls at her school, she didn’t
enjoy the same chatter they did and lately hadn’t been able to
shelve her snide or mean comments.

“Who is that!?” Sarah Ann exclaimed pointing a
finger. All four girls turned to look, coming onto the patio was
the Goddess Bendis, in her maiden form she didn’t appear more than
a year or two older than Daniela.

“That’s my cousin, on my father’s side,” Daniela
said quickly.

“If she’s staying for the summer, perhaps Sarah Ann
should visit her grandparents in London instead of staying here,
that girl is serious competition.” Mercy grinned.

“She’s not staying the summer. Please excuse me.”
Daniela broke away from her friends and went to her mom, gripping
her elbow tightly, “she’s here.”

Stasi paled and turned around, Bendis was almost
upon them. They both smiled and bowed their heads under the weight
of the Goddess’ stare.

“Thank you so much for coming” Stasi greeted
her.

“Thank you for inviting me. I haven’t been to a
birthday party in centuries.” Bendis nodded.

“Please, come sit, have some tea and refreshments.”
Daniela was surprised her voice was as strong and steady as it was,
her knees felt weak. They led her to a table where Anatolia was
sitting.

“Mother,” Anatolia greeted, coolly.

“Anatolia, I had forgotten you would be here, maybe
I should have appeared as my mother persona,” Bendis giggled.

“It is always unnerving to see you so much younger
than me, especially when you act the age you look, but I expected
nothing else.” Anatolia sipped her tea, it was a beautiful golden
color and smelled divine.

“That smells wonderful, pour me a cup,” Bendis
commanded.

“I’m afraid this was the last of it,” Anatolia told
her, Bendis’s young face pouted.

“Let me make you another pot of that specific blend!”
Daniela offered, like an eager pup.

“If you wouldn’t mind. I know it’s your birthday, I
did bring a present and left it with all the other stacked in the
foyer,” Bendis beamed.

“You want that exact blend? We make it ourselves,”
Daniela said proudly.

“Yes, it’s such a lovely shade, reminds me of
sunshine.”

“I’ll be right back.” Daniela squeezed her mother’s
hand and then quickly went into the house.

“Dani.” A whispered hiss came from one of the
drawing rooms. Daniela stopped, frustrated, but it was Adella’s
voice. Daniela ducked in and saw her friend was looking out the
window, a serious expression on her face.

“What’s going on? Why are you hiding in here?”

“Your cousin is a demon, I see her true face.”
Adella turned, pale and shaking.

“That’s nonsense, you’re letting your dad’s sermons
get to you again.” Daniela tried to calm her down…she didn’t need
her making a scene.

“It’s not…I can see her true face….she is
evil…caused the death and suffering of many…” Adella went back to
the window, eyes focused on Bendis. Daniela was hidden from the
window, but she could see the Goddess. With large eyes and a sick
stomach she watched as Bendis turned and seemed to stare right at
Adella, that’s when the screaming started.

Adella began to shake, scratching her eyes, Daniela
grabbed her, trying to keep her hands away from her face. She
yelled for a maid as her friend thrashed on the floor, wailing, her
eyes ruined masses in their sockets. Daniela grabbed a blanket off
the chair and tried to staunch the blood flow, rocking her
friend.

“Give her to me, Daniela.”

Daniela saw Anatolia, “what happened?”

“She shouldn’t have voiced her fears out loud. You
better hurry and make that tea before my mother decides this was
too much excitement and leaves. I will take care of Adella and her
parents.” Anatolia sounded resigned and sad, “This one was special,
but humans cannot look upon the true faces of a God.”

Daniela hated leaving her friend, she was scared now
and shivering she darted off to the kitchen, hoping Adella would be
alright. She went back into the pantry to get the ingredients and
begin brewing.

Anatolia had known that her mother would want
whatever she was drinking, it was in her nature, especially if it
was beautiful and smelled good, so while Anatolia had gotten a
Darjeeling white tea with chamomile and rose hips, they were
replacing the Darjeeling with the golden flower that her grandma
had sent her. The two teas looked and smelled very similar, it had
taken them all night to figure it out. They couldn’t just brew it
straight, the strange gold flowers had made the tea smell and taste
a little like rust.

Daniela steeped the tea, watching it carefully so it
was just as gold as the cup Anatolia had. When it was done she
carefully took the pot outside and poured the Goddess a cup of tea.
Her eyes darted around, she saw Adella and her parents were gone
and her knees wobbled, she took a deep breath and tried to calm
down. It wouldn’t do for Bendis to see hate or terror on her
face.

“Would you like cream or sugar, perhaps honey?” Stasi
asked, she was sitting across from Bendis.

“I don’t care to sweeten or change tea, what’s the
point?” Bendis sipped her tea.

There was a tightness in her chest Daniela wasn’t
used to. She sat next to her mother and reached under the table for
her hand, butterflies in her stomach making her feel nauseated and
clammy.

“It’s wonderful,” Bendis practically purred.

“I am glad you like it,” Stasi said, mouth dry.

“What are you going to do now, Daniela?” the Goddess
asked, drinking more. Stasi nudged her daughter, Daniela was just
staring at Bendis’s mouth.

“Oh, I want to attend school.”

“Noble goal, only another two years until you can
see your grandma and father again; school will give you a
diversion. I am sorry it has to be this way.” Bendis had a tinge of
regret in her eyes.

“You could always change that,” Anatolia commented,
coming up behind her mother. She nodded at Daniela and then sat
down.

“No, once I declare something it is law.” Bendis
finished her cup and held it out for more, shaking, Daniela poured
it.

“I’ve spoken to others and you could change it if
you wanted to,” Anatolia argued.

“Anatolia, I do not want to get into this now. Let’s
just enjoy this lovely party. I wish Nea could be here to see you
turn 18, Daniela.” Bendis drank again and licked her lips.

Bendis was not facing the manor’s extensive grounds,
so she didn’t see what Daniela and Stasi saw. It was a good thing
too, anxious excitement coursed through Daniela, she opened her
mouth and said, “she is here to see me turn 18.”

Frowning the Goddess spun around in her chair, rage
filling her features, her cheeks turning pink as she saw Nea,
Sabine, Mihail and Ruxandra approaching. She stood up quickly, her
chair hit the ground causing several conversations to stop, eyes
swiveled to the young woman who seemed furious and then to what she
was staring at.

“What’s going on?” Sarah Ann came to Daniela’s side,
and gripped her arm, “and where is Adella?”

“Is there something wrong with your cousin? Is she
sick?” Mercy appeared behind Sarah as Bendis took a few steps
towards Nea, quaking from head to toe.

“Adella went home, she didn’t feel well…” Daniela
murmured, eyes focused on her grandma and father.

“Who are those people?” Mercy’s eyes were wide, this
was more excitement then they normally had.

“Some of my family,” Daniela answered. She glanced
at her mom, as if to say, ‘what now?’

“Why didn’t Adella tell us she was leaving?” Sarah
Ann seemed less interested in the commotion than she was the
disappearance of their fourth.

“I don’t know. You can go check on her if you want.”
Daniela’s mind was thinking as fast as it could. If Bendis could
make Adella blind, who knew what she would do to her other
friends?

“Are those, foxes?” Sarah Ann asked, startled,
Bendis foxes, Petru and Gina had appeared by their mistress’s side,
growling and larger than Daniela remembered them.

“I think we should leave…” Mercy mumbled, she caught
on the fastest and something didn’t seem right.

“You may be right, Dani, come with us,” Sarah Ann
said, she was gripping Mercy’s arm now.

“You girls should go back to your parents,” Stasi
said. “Anatolia?”

“Do not be concerned about your friends and the
other party guests, I will handle it,” Anatolia whispered getting
up. She would use her magic so no one remembered any other worldly
things and only that the party ended splendidly.

“Ring the house as soon as you can!” Mercy called as
Antolia began leading both girls away.

“Nea, you should not be here. In fact you cannot be
here! How dare you defy me? I have put up with a lot from you over
the years because your family is special to me, but this!” Bendis
yelled, striding towards her Strega. She didn’t even notice that
her ankle shook a bit at her first step away from the table, or
that her skin had a fine layer of sweat, though the Goddess could
not possibly be warm.

“I am not defying you. I am here to tell you I have
broken the Bathory curse,” Nea spoke quietly as the Goddess stood
in front of her.

“What? Impossible, I would have felt it,” Bendis
swayed on her feet suddenly.

“I think, Hecate, you are feeling it,” Sabine
scoffed, enjoying the panicked expression in the Goddess’ eyes.

“We know you cast the curse on my family, have known
for some time now.” Nea felt sadness, she didn’t hate this Goddess,
Bendis had made her what she was, given her many great gifts, but
this was the only way to save her family.

“I didn’t think breaking a curse I cast would make
me feel sick,” Bendis swallowed, a nauseating feeling crawling up
her throat. She fell to the ground, on her knees, head drooping.
Her beloved foxes made sad yipping noises, trying to comfort
her.

“It isn’t. When I said I broke the Bathory curse I
meant my granddaughter did.” Nea met Daniela’s eyes.

“The tea.” Bendis moaned in understanding, “You have
poisoned me?”

“Yes, the only way to end the curse is for you to
die,” Nea explained.

“No! There has to be another way. Anatolia!” Bendis
screamed for her daughter.

“There isn’t, you know that. I have spent centuries
looking.”

“I will not die, I am a Goddess.” Her words were
weak, but she still had access to her magic, she would go out
fighting those who sought to destroy her. Unleashing her magic she
drew the crossroads of death to her and allowed her foxes to take
on their true forms. They became huge beasts and where once there
was two now there were four. Black and smokey with red eyes, teeth
that snapped white and sharp, in the mist that was their faces.
They growled at everyone.